Latest news with #post-Parkland
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Parkland and FSU shooting survivors urge Florida lawmakers to uphold gun laws
The Brief Students impacted by both the Parkland and recent FSU shootings are urging Florida lawmakers to preserve and strengthen gun laws. They rallied at the Capitol this week, warning against a rollback of reforms like the gun-buying age increase and red flag laws. With the legislative session nearing its end, their plea adds urgency to a debate rekindled by tragedy. ORLANDO, Fla. - Students impacted by both the Parkland and recent FSU shootings are urging Florida lawmakers to preserve and strengthen gun laws. What we know Following last week's deadly shooting at Florida State University (FSU), student activists — many of whom were also affected by the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School — are urging lawmakers to maintain and strengthen Florida's gun control laws. The renewed advocacy effort comes as the Republican-controlled legislature considers rolling back some of the reforms enacted in the wake of the Parkland tragedy. Two people were killed, and six others injured in the FSU shooting. The suspect, a 20-year-old student identified as Phoenix Ikner, remains hospitalized and has not yet been formally charged. Investigators say he used a handgun that once belonged to his stepmother, a sheriff's deputy. What we don't know Authorities have not detailed Ikner's motives for the FSU shooting, and it's unclear how he accessed the firearm or whether warning signs were missed. While the suspect couldn't legally purchase a rifle under current Florida law, the process by which he came into possession of the handgun is still under investigation. It also remains uncertain whether the recent events will influence any legislative changes before the current session ends on May 2. Although the Florida House passed a bill to lower the minimum age for purchasing firearms to 18, its future in the Senate is now in question. The backstory In 2018, following the Parkland shooting that killed 17 people, Florida passed a sweeping gun reform bill with bipartisan support. The law included raising the minimum age to purchase firearms to 21 and implementing red flag laws to allow courts to temporarily remove firearms from individuals deemed a threat. This response was driven in large part by student-led activism that mobilized nationwide and changed the political conversation around gun violence. Many of those same voices are now rallying once again — this time as college students — to protect those hard-won policies. What they're saying Florida's current political climate is testing the durability of post-Parkland reforms. With Republicans holding a supermajority in both chambers, Democrats and activists are facing an uphill battle to pass or even get hearings on new gun control proposals. The emotional weight of repeated school shootings is fueling a renewed movement among students, who view the recent violence not as isolated incidents but as a symptom of broader legislative inaction. "No one should ever have to experience a school shooting — let alone two — just to have to beg lawmakers to care enough to stop the next one," said Stephanie Horowitz, a survivor of the Parkland shooting and now a graduate student at FSU. "It wasn't as deadly as it could have been," said FSU junior Logan Rubenstein. "And to me, that's because of the laws that we passed after Parkland." "When it comes to life and death, it's important to do the right thing," Rubenstein added, urging lawmakers to resist repealing the state's gun restrictions. "Today I rise and ask for a moment of silence for my Seminole family, as we mourn those lost and the many lives that have been changed forever," said Republican Sen. Corey Simon, visibly emotional on the Senate floor. "I am begging them to do something like we did after the horrific Parkland shooting," said Democratic Sen. Tina Polsky at a rally outside the Capitol. "We're not trying to make this political. We are trying to save lives," added Democratic Rep. Anna Eskamani, encouraging student activists to keep pressing lawmakers. What's next The Tallahassee Police Department said the suspected FSU gunman, Phoenix Ikner, will be charged in the campus shooting once he is released from the hospital. STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 35 ORLANDO: Download the FOX Local app for breaking news alerts, the latest news headlines Download the FOX 35 Storm Team Weather app for weather alerts & radar Sign up for FOX 35's daily newsletter for the latest morning headlines FOX Local:Stream FOX 35 newscasts, FOX 35 News+, Central Florida Eats on your smart TV The Source This story was written based on information shared by the Associated Press.
Miami Herald
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
For now, common sense speaks louder in debate to undo post-Parkland gun laws
We're not quite ready yet to say good riddance to an effort to undo historic, bipartisan gun-control regulation Florida passed after the 2018 Parkland school shooting. But it seems that a bill that aimed to lower the minimum age for purchasing rifles and other long guns from 21 to 18 is dead this year. That's good news, though anything could change before the legislative session wraps up in May. On Monday, Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, said she will not allow the bill to be heard in her powerful Senate Rules Committee, meaning the legislation likely will stall and die. The Florida House has already passed House Bill 759 with a 78-34 vote. This might be the third year in a row that the House has tried — only to be blocked by the Senate — to repeal the post-Parkland law that increased the minimum age for long-gun purchases to 21. Passidomo's timing couldn't be more opportune. Last Thursday, a suspected gunman killed two people at the Florida State University campus, not too far from where lawmakers are meeting in Tallahassee. Passidomo said the decision to block the bill was made before the shooting, CBS News reported. The optics of lawmakers undoing gun restrictions in the wake of another campus shooting would have been terrible. Some former students from Parkland's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High were on the FSU campus as the shooting took place last week. Luckily, this does not appear to be a case of the Florida Senate trying to avoid bad press. Passidomo has been steadfast in her support for the gun-control law she helped pass in the aftermath of the 2018 school massacre, which left people 17 dead. When she was the Senate president in 2023, she told reporters she would not support repealing that law and letting people aged 18 to 20 purchase a rifle. Federal law already sets a minimum age of 21 for handgun purchases. To be clear, it appears the state law would not have prevented FSU shooting suspect Phoenix Ikner, 20, from having access to a weapon. Ikner, a student at the university, is the stepson of a Leon County Sheriff's deputy. He used his stepmom's personal handgun, which she previously used for work, Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell said at a news conference last week, the Tallahassee Democrat reported. A shotgun was found at the scene but it is unclear if it was used. Arguments that a particular gun law would not have stopped a particular shooting miss the point because each of these horrific incidents is different. Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz, for example, used an AR-15-style rifle he bought from a Broward County dealer when he was 18. He's the reason lawmakers and then-Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican, raised the purchase age minimum. The law makes exceptions for people aged 18 to 20 who serve in the military, corrections and law enforcement. The challenge with mass and campus shootings is that they involve multiple factors, from mental health issues to, yes, easy access to weapons. It's impossible to know how many incidents the post-Parkland law might have prevented, but we should be making it harder, not easier, for unstable young people to access guns. Asking them to wait until the same age they can drink alcohol is not an extreme measure. Instead of repealing sensible gun-control measures, lawmakers should be passing new, reasonable restrictions on the types of weapons and the amount of ammunition people are allowed to buy. They should be looking at closing loopholes that, for example, allow people to buy guns without a background check through private transactions. While the stalling of House Bill 759 is a good sign, lawmakers are still pushing to provide incentives for people to buy guns. The Senate has advanced another bill that would exempt the purchase of firearms and ammunition from sales taxes for about three and a half months in 2025. Lawmakers in 2023 passed a law that allows people to carry a concealed weapon without a permit. This is the history of Florida and gun control. A little progress always comes with big setbacks. Click here to send the letter.
Miami Herald
03-04-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Ex-Parkland mayor: Florida attorney general's position on rifle sales ‘a gut punch'
The Parkland community was distraught, gun vendors were unmoved and legal experts were skeptical when Florida's attorney general said he wouldn't enforce a law — recently upheld by a U.S. appeals court — banning the sales of rifles and shotguns to anyone under 21. Florida's attorney general, James Uthmeier, said he disagrees with a federal appeals court's recent decision upholding the age restriction, passed in the wake of a 19-year-old gunman killing 17 people at a Parkland high school in 2018. In a memo, he said his duty to defend Florida's statutes is trumped by his duty to uphold the Constitution. 'I must depart from this Office's prior judgment,' he said. 'In this instance, I cannot escape my judgment that the Florida statute is unconstitutional as applied to law-abiding adults under the age of 21.' One year before the mass shooting, the teen gunman legally purchased an AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle from a Coral Springs gun store, after having passed the required background check. What to know: The push to undo Florida's post-Parkland age restriction to buy rifles The resulting law was a rare bipartisan effort to enact gun-safety regulations after years of Republican opposition to Florida firearm restrictions. The National Rifle Association sued after former Republican Gov. Rick Scott signed it into law in 2018. Uthmeier was chief of staff to Gov. Ron DeSantis when the governor fired the Democratic Hillsborough County prosecutor, Andrew Warren, in August 2022 over Warren's pledge not to prosecute patients or providers of abortions or gender transition treatments. DeSantis said, 'State attorneys have a duty to prosecute crimes as defined in Florida law, not to pick and choose which laws to enforce based on his personal agenda.' At the time, Uthmeier wrote on social media, 'Follow the law or find a new job.' Warren, 48, said in a phone interview the governor's inaction toward Uthmeier is hypocritical given DeSantis used the same logic used to remove him from office. When presented with a hypothetical case where a 19-year-old tries to buy a shotgun at a gun shop, a spokesperson for the attorney general's office said, 'Our prosecutors will not be prosecuting those cases.' The news upset Fred Guttenberg, who became a gun-safety advocate after his daughter, Jaime, died in the Parkland massacre. 'That hypothetical example you used isn't actually so hypothetical,' said Guttenberg, 59. 'There was a thing called the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting, and I visit my daughter in a cemetery because of it.' The attorney general's announcement doesn't mean those aged 18 to 20 will be able to purchase rifles and shotguns from licensed vendors. Three firearm vendors — in Tampa, Brevard County and Gainesville — said they won't begin selling firearms to those under 21 because of Uthmeier's announcement. The sale of firearms will still violate existing state law, and state prosecutors could decide whether to prosecute violators. 'When you sell somebody a firearm,' said Timothy Scully, 59, who owns a shop just north of Melbourne Beach, 'you really have to cross your t's and dot your i's.' Stephen Schnably, 70, a constitutional law expert at the University of Miami and a registered Democratic voter, said the move was an insult to the Legislature and democracy. 'I don't think a state attorney general should refuse to enforce or defend a statute as unconstitutional unless there's a very serious reason for it,' he said. In doing so, the attorney general's office is ignoring the will of the Florida Legislature, effectively rendering their law useless, he said. 'A simple flat policy of not ever prosecuting for violations of a statute means the statute has no effect,' he said. 'And what is the Legislature supposed to do? Re-pass it? It's already on the books.' On March 14, a federal appellate court upheld Florida's firearm age restriction in an 8-4 decision, noting those under 21 had been restricted from purchasing firearms at the time of the nation's founding. The attorney general's argument would be more effective if a federal appeals court hadn't just validated the Florida statute, said Mark Seidenfeld, 71, a professor at Florida State University. While Seidenfeld expressed a level of uncertainty given the unusual circumstances, he said the decision of the attorney general's office not to enforce the statute is constitutionally questionable and flies in the face of the judicial branch's authority. 'They are on shaky ground here,' Seidenfeld said. Uthmeier, 37, was appointed as attorney general by Gov. DeSantis in February, filling a vacancy created by Ashley Moody's Senate campaign. He worked as DeSantis' chief of staff from 2021 to 2023 and worked as the campaign manager for DeSantis' failed 2024 presidential run. Soon after taking office, he announced his intention to run for a full term as attorney general when the position opens next year. It will be his first attempt at statewide office. Florida prosecutors have charged the age restriction statute 19 times since 2018. It wasn't clear if the attorney general's office was involved in prosecuting any of the cases. The attorney general is not the main source of prosecution in Florida, said constitutional law expert Donald Jones, 73, at the University of Miami. Most prosecution is completed by state attorneys who are meant to make independent decisions about which cases to file. Guttenberg said Florida's chief legal officer is setting a harmful precedent for prosecutors in red counties to follow. Legal expert Jones also said Uthmeier's recent tweets on the topic are improper, as they can be seen as advising local prosecutors which cases to file. 'You can't politicize the institution of the attorney general's office,' Jones said. 'In theory, these officers do not operate on political ideology.' Parkland's mayor at the time of the shooting, state Rep. Christine Hunschofsky, D-Coconut Creek, said the attorney general's actions are incredibly disheartening and worsen the Parkland community's wounds. Hunschofsky said she worked to unify families after the shooting to bring them to Tallahassee to support the 2018 bill. 'It feels like a gut punch on a personal level,' she said. 'It's sad that we continue to re-litigate something that has stood up in the courts.' Federal law prohibits the sale of handguns to those under 21. This discussion of Florida law only impacts 18- to 20-year-old's ability to purchase long guns, the classification containing rifles and shotguns. The attorney general can consider financial and practical matters when determining which statutes to prioritize, experts said. The ability — known as prosecutorial discretion — is a powerful gray area allowing prosecutors to not enforce specific statutes, such as jaywalking, if they don't believe it's the best use of resources. Experts suggested those criteria aren't met given Uthmeier's discussion of constitutionality. Republican Bill McCollum, 80, who served as Florida's attorney general from 2007 to 2011, said it's within the scope of the attorney general's abilities to pick which laws to defend. Democrat Bob Butterworth, 82, who served for 15 years as the attorney general beginning 1987, said his designation as chief legal officer grants him broad authority. McCollum said the attorney general is an elected position, and the public can remove him if it disagrees with the statutes he chooses to defend. Guttenberg said, 'When the chief law enforcement officer is saying to the boss, 'I am not going to enforce the law,' why is his boss not removing him from office?' The governor's office did not respond to repeated emails and phone calls to discuss Uthmeier's decision. The House last week passed a bill sponsored by Reps. Michelle Salzman, R-Cantonment, and Tyler Sirois, R-Merritt Island, that would lower the minimum age to purchase firearms in Florida back to 18. But halfway through the 60-day session, two similar Senate bills had not been scheduled for hearings. Unlike Florida's former attorney general, Pam Bondi, whose office defended the statute in court, Uthmeier said his office will not represent Florida if the NRA appeals the federal court decision and a challenge is brought to the Supreme Court. House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell said Uthmeier's actions showed a disregard for the role of Florida's Legislature. 'I think it's important for the people to have faith in our institutions,' she said. 'That only works when we have mutual respect in our institutions.' This story was produced by Fresh Take Florida, a news service of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications. The reporter can be reached at mcupelli@ You can donate to support our students here.
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘What's changed?' Bill to lower Florida's gun-buying age questioned
TALLAHASSEE — Walking through the halls of the building at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School where a teenage gunman killed 17 people seven years ago left a deep impression on Senate President Ben Albritton. 'You can't do that and not be affected profoundly,' Albritton, a Republican from rural Wauchula and a lifetime NRA member, said to a group of reporters, choking up with tears as he recounted his recent visit to the Parkland School. He said he had gotten to know Tom and Gena Hoyer, whose 15-year-old son Luke was one of the victims of that mass shooting. And that made him think about his own son, and the changes made after the Parkland tragedy to make schools safer that some fellow Republicans in the Legislature want to reverse. 'I have to do the best I can based on experience, based on my values,' Albritton said. 'It includes Luke Hoyer. That's all I've got to say about it.' Ultimately, Albritton's powerful emotions will play a critical role in one of the highest-profile decisions of this legislative session: whether to change the allowable age for buying long guns from 21 back to 18 as it was before Parkland. As Senate president, Albritton can decide whether his chamber takes up a bill rapidly moving through the House. Though he has not clarified his intentions, three similar bills by senators have not moved since they were first introduced. It's the third year in a row Second Amendment conservatives have attempted to overturn the age requirement. They say it's unconstitutional, despite two federal court rulings supporting its legality. House Republicans also say the post-Parkland restrictions were passed in the heat of the moment and now cooler heads can prevail. 'This is a matter of public policy, and we have to take emotions out,' said Rep. Tyler Sirois, R-Titusville, one of the two sponsors of the House bill. 'There were tragic systemic failures,' he added, referring to Parkland and arguing the age limits 'would not have made a difference.' Family members of the victims and other opponents of this year's bill have called it a slap in the community's face, and disrespectful of the work that went into the gun safety package by the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission that was chaired by Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri. 'This feels like salt being poured into an open wound,' said Debbie Hixon, a Broward County School Board member and the widow of Chris Hixon, the athletic director at MSD who was shot and killed that day. 'The community came up here in grief and shock and asked you to do something, and you did it… and it made our communities safer. 'Now you want to repeal it makes me feel like you have forgotten who my husband and the other 16 victims were.' A 19-year-old former student at the Parkland school carrying an AR-15 type rifle shot and killed 17 students and faculty and wounded many others. The Legislature immediately convened a special commission to make recommendations that were adopted and signed into law by then-Gov. Rick Scott, now a U.S. Senator. Those recommendations included raising the age for buying a long gun, imposing a three-day waiting period for most gun purchases, banning bump-fire stocks, allowing trained school employees to carry guns on campus, hiring more school resource officers, and allowing courts to prevent someone deemed a risk to themselves or others from possessing a firearm. Those measures have all proven effective in preventing further gun violence in schools, Rep. Dan Daley, D-Coral Springs, said. 'What has changed? For me, nothing has changed,' Daley said. But Rep. Michelle Salzman, R-Pensacola, a co-sponsor of legislation to return the long-gun age limit to 18, said the 2018 measure 'was passed in a moment of fear, anger and anxiety.' Lack of access to mental health treatment is the reason gun violence exists, she said. 'We hear emotional arguments all the time – our responsibility to put emotions aside and bring balance and equity to the state. This bill is merely doing that,' Salzman said. 'When you turn 18 you can sign a contract, can get married, go into military. You can be sentenced to death.' Daley countered that people between 18 and 20 are responsible for 17% of school mass shootings. He also said that 18-year-olds in the military get weeks of training to learn how to responsibly handle a firearm. The House measure is on its way to a floor vote with passage expected mostly along party lines. So far only one Republican has voted against it: Rep. Hillary Cassel, R-Dania Beach, who switched parties after she won reelection as a Democrat. Albritton's predecessor as Senate President, Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, refused to take up similar House bills two years running, saying she was focused on increasing mental health services to school kids. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the age limit was constitutional in 2023, and the full court reaffirmed that status just a week ago. But Attorney General James Uthmeier, who was appointed by DeSantis to replace Ashley Moody when she was tapped to fill out the term of U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, said he would not defend the law if it is challenged again. Albritton said he had legal staff working on an appropriate response to that. 'I do not want to be impulsive.'
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Florida House moves to lower gun purchase age, reviving post-Parkland debate
The Brief Florida House Republicans advanced a bill to lower the age for rifle and shotgun purchases, reversing a post-Parkland restriction. Supporters argue 18-year-olds have other adult responsibilities, while opponents cite safety concerns and brain development. The bill faces hurdles in the Senate and a pending federal court ruling on the existing law. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida House Republicans on Wednesday backed a proposal that would repeal part of a law passed after the 2018 mass shooting at Parkland's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and allow people under age 21 to buy rifles and shotguns. What we know Florida House Republicans are advancing a bill (HB 759) that would repeal part of a law enacted after the 2018 Parkland school shooting, allowing individuals under 21 to purchase rifles and shotguns. The GOP-controlled House Criminal Justice Subcommittee approved the measure in a 13-5 vote along party lines. The House has passed similar bills in previous years, but the Senate has yet to act. The current law, enacted after the Parkland shooting, bars those under 21 from purchasing long guns but allows them to receive such firearms as gifts. The proposed bill would also permit private sales of handguns to individuals under 21, which is currently restricted under federal law for licensed dealers. The legislation must still pass the Judiciary Committee before reaching the full House for a vote. What we don't know It remains uncertain whether the Florida Senate will consider the bill this year, as past attempts have failed. Additionally, a federal court is still weighing the constitutionality of the existing age restriction, following a lawsuit filed by the National Rifle Association. The outcome of that ruling could influence the legislative debate. Gov. Ron DeSantis has signaled his support for revising state gun laws, but the specifics of his stance on this particular measure remain unclear. The backstory The age restriction was part of a sweeping school safety law passed in the wake of the Parkland massacre, where a 19-year-old gunman killed 17 people with a semi-automatic rifle. The law, signed by then-Gov. Rick Scott, also included measures such as a three-day waiting period for firearm purchases and the establishment of a "red flag" law allowing courts to temporarily remove guns from individuals deemed a threat. Gun rights groups, including the NRA, opposed the age restriction from the start and quickly challenged it in court. Lower courts upheld the law, but a full panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in October and has yet to rule. What they're saying Supporters of the bill argue that 18- to 20-year-olds are legally adults with other rights and responsibilities, including military service, and should not be barred from purchasing firearms. "Concerns about the maturity of 18- to 20-year-olds have been raised," said Rep. Michelle Salzman, R-Pensacola. "But this group is already entrusted with significant responsibilities, such as voting, serving on juries and enlisting in the armed forces." Gun rights advocates say the law disproportionately harms young women who need firearms for self-defense. "As a father, I want my daughter to be armed when she is under the age of 21 and she is living outside my house, so she is able to protect herself," said Luis Valdes of Gun Owners of America. "Right now, the law disarms women. It disarms our college students." Opponents argue that younger individuals are more prone to impulsive behavior and should not have easier access to firearms. "We must think harder and longer," said Rep. Dianne Hart, D-Tampa. "Eighteen-year-olds don't need guns. We don't let them drink alcohol for a reason. They are not ready yet." Rep. Robin Bartleman, D-Weston, emphasized the voices of Parkland survivors and families. "We owe it to these families not to go backwards," she said. What's next The bill still needs approval from the Judiciary Committee before it can go to the full House. In the Senate, related bills have been filed but have not advanced through committee hearings. A final decision on the bill's fate will likely depend on both legislative action and the pending federal court ruling. STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 35 ORLANDO: Download the FOX Local app for breaking news alerts, the latest news headlines Download the FOX 35 Storm Team Weather app for weather alerts & radar Sign up for FOX 35's daily newsletter for the latest morning headlines FOX Local:Stream FOX 35 newscasts, FOX 35 News+, Central Florida Eats on your smart TV The Source This story was written based on information shared by the News Service of Florida.
